Game Day Guide: What you need to know for Nebraska-Boston College
It’s one final game day guide for 2024, and that’s pretty dang exciting, no?
Well, well, well. It’s one final game day guide for 2024, and that’s pretty dang exciting, no?
Nebraska is in the Big Apple, ready to face Boston College in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. It kicks off at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, which is certainly a unique venue for a bowl game. Nebraska (6-6) faces Boston College (7-5), marking the Huskers’ first postseason venture since the Music City Bowl in 2016.
Again, exciting, no?
If you like history, it’s not Nebraska’s first postseason trip to NYC. In fact, the Huskers defeated Miami in the 1962 Gotham Bowl, marking the third bowl appearance in school history. Even better, that win marked the first victory in a bowl game in school history.
Well, we also know what happened following that 1962 season for coach Bob Devaney.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here. No matter the outcome, postseason play comes with plenty of benefits. For instance, Nebraska earned nearly an entire month of extra bowl practices. That’s not all, as early enrollees had the opportunity to travel to New York and get some early work in.
“They had to go through that acclimatization phase,” coach Matt Rhule said this week. “They haven't done everything in terms of on the field, but they've done a lot. It's been a great opportunity for them, obviously being here, being around the team, being in meetings. It's a jump start to their career, having a chance to meet the guys, I'm sure getting to know them better and being a part of all the trips we've done.
You think about it, in one week we've taken our team to practice at the Giants, we've taken them to a Knicks game and they're here obviously at Yankee Stadium, three iconic franchises in pro sports, at the height of professional sports, so those freshmen, what a way to start college.”
That’s valuable, no?
Anyway, Counter Read is also in New York City for game day and will be at Yankee Stadium to capture it all on Saturday. Stay tuned for a game day chat — available for paid subscribers — and plenty more. It’s looking like a rainy day, but we’re not going to let it rain on our parade.
Let’s have some fun, shall we?
Everything you need to know for Nebraska-Boston College:
TV Channel: ABC (Mike Monaco, Kirk Morrison and Dawn Davenport)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 28
Time: 11 a.m. CT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Huskers Radio Network
Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Weather: Steady light rain in the morning. Showers continuing in the afternoon. High of 46 degrees. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80 percent.
Line: Nebraska -4
Over/Under: 46.5
Notable quotes:
Matt Rhule on scouting Boston College:
“Well, I think when you watch them offensively, they can run the football as well as anybody. They're physical, tough. They create alignment concerns with their use of tight ends and formations and edges. They can run it on a day that it could be wet and cold. Obviously that's a good recipe for winning. They consistently win the turnover battle, which is probably the number one factor in winning football games. Then defensively they're excellent pass rushers. They're physical. They're tough. I think obviously when you see that football team, you think of Coach O'Brien, who he is. I think they're a mirror image of him. It's a really good match-up for us in terms of testing us to see where we're at.”
Center Ben Scott on the last month:
“It’s a good feeling to see a new coach come in and talk highly of us like that. You know we are never satisfied. I think we all are just working and getting better. We are outside right now doing drills on our ‘so called’ off day. Never satisfied, always trying to get better. Throughout this last month, it’s been a lot of just fine tuning the little details and just getting better.”
Defensive back Marques Buford Jr. on the bowl game:
“It’s really exciting that we worked so hard this off-season and had our ups and downs throughout this year, knowing that we get one more chance to let these seniors go out the way that they want to go out and Christmas in New York for a week isn’t bad for anyone I would say. Just really happy, more happy that I get to do it with this group of guys and this group of coaches that we get to do it with. Just really excited.”
Boston College coach Bill O’Brien on the potential for rain Saturday:
“I mean, we've played in all kinds of weather, as you know. We played in the pouring rain at Michigan State. We've played in ton of weather. We practiced outside while we were here, and I think our guys are ready for the weather. Hopefully it doesn't pour rain, but if it does, it does. We'll be ready for it.”
Interesting facts about this matchup:
This marks Nebraska's 54th bowl trip in school history.
This is the first-ever meeting between Nebraska and Boston College, and Nebrask’s first meeting with a current member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 2015.
This is also the 17th all-time bowl game against a current ACC team.
The New York City metro area is home to nearly 1,800 University of Nebraska alumni.